DDKL
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2013
- Posts
- 14
- Likes
- 10
I felt like there wasn't enough information available for more comparisons between these two excellent cans. This is just a thread meant to be informative based on personal experiences; you may feel free to reply or ignore it, but for those who are still struggling between these two headphones I hope this is of some use to you despite not being as comprehensive as other comparisons.
After having listened to songs from different genres (especially newly-released songs) (Daft Punk, P!nk, Children of Bodom, Beatles, etc.), I immediately noticed that the M50 had clearer treble/highs than the MDR. The cymbals had their own place, wholly separated from other instruments without much distortion, whereas the MDR had some trouble effectively distinguishing the highs form its lower counterparts. For example, when listening to Daft Punk's new single, "Get Lucky," you can clearly single out the cymbals from the rest of the instruments with the M50.
The M50 also has a better bass--not the kind of bass that eats up the mids and the lows, but the kind that, like the cymbals, has its own place in the music; it is dominant but not domineering. The MDR's also has a nice bass, and it was a little difficult to determine which of the two had the better low. But after more careful listening of songs, the M50 wins by an inch.
The mids in both M50 and MDR are finely tuned. It seemed that the M50 utilizes sort of a wide "u"-shaped EQ, not a blatant "U" but very smoothed out, sort of like "(" but flipped by 90 degrees. Despite this, the mids are very, very clear and strong. I'm guessing the audio illusion of the u-shaped EQ is due to the fact that the M50 does an outstanding job of isolating noise and remaining true to being a closed-headphone. The MDR does not deliver the physical qualities of the M50 in terms of isolation. However, they are equally very durable. Each should last you at least ten years if used with care (obviously). The M50 is physically able to do anything the MDR can do but with a couple extra (but big) features.
The M50 was once priced at $150, but recently it has been dropped to $100~. The MDR is $85. The extra $15 is worth it. I will still be keeping my MDR as back-up, though I can't imagine ever using it again.
After having listened to songs from different genres (especially newly-released songs) (Daft Punk, P!nk, Children of Bodom, Beatles, etc.), I immediately noticed that the M50 had clearer treble/highs than the MDR. The cymbals had their own place, wholly separated from other instruments without much distortion, whereas the MDR had some trouble effectively distinguishing the highs form its lower counterparts. For example, when listening to Daft Punk's new single, "Get Lucky," you can clearly single out the cymbals from the rest of the instruments with the M50.
The M50 also has a better bass--not the kind of bass that eats up the mids and the lows, but the kind that, like the cymbals, has its own place in the music; it is dominant but not domineering. The MDR's also has a nice bass, and it was a little difficult to determine which of the two had the better low. But after more careful listening of songs, the M50 wins by an inch.
The mids in both M50 and MDR are finely tuned. It seemed that the M50 utilizes sort of a wide "u"-shaped EQ, not a blatant "U" but very smoothed out, sort of like "(" but flipped by 90 degrees. Despite this, the mids are very, very clear and strong. I'm guessing the audio illusion of the u-shaped EQ is due to the fact that the M50 does an outstanding job of isolating noise and remaining true to being a closed-headphone. The MDR does not deliver the physical qualities of the M50 in terms of isolation. However, they are equally very durable. Each should last you at least ten years if used with care (obviously). The M50 is physically able to do anything the MDR can do but with a couple extra (but big) features.
The M50 was once priced at $150, but recently it has been dropped to $100~. The MDR is $85. The extra $15 is worth it. I will still be keeping my MDR as back-up, though I can't imagine ever using it again.
